Judge Won't Block Suit Against Neb. Pipeline Law

A Lancaster County district judge has refused to block a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Nebraska's new pipeline siting law.

Judge Stephanie Stacy on Monday denied a state request to dismiss the lawsuit that was filed in May by three landowners along the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The lawsuit says the law that passed in April unlawfully delegated powers to the governor that belong with the Public Service Commission. It also says the law stemmed from unconstitutional special legislation because it benefited only one entity, TransCanada.

The company's pipeline is designed to carry tar sands oil from Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada also has proposed connecting it to the Bakken oil field in Montana and North Dakota.